The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-02-17
ATTACKING THE FORESTS.
The Hills and Wales OF Northess
Pennsylvania Dcnudcd OF
Their Timber.

A half century's incessant onslaught
by sawmills and tanneries on the once
dense forests of pine and hemlock in
the counties of northeastern pennsylva'
mia and the adjoining counties Of New
York state has at last virtually OK
haustcd them. Out of 100 immense
tanneries in operation fifteen years age
there is not bark enough left to KEEP
more than half dozen in operation to
day. and not more than one Of these
can be run over three years longer.
Ten years ago this county Wayne
sent to market l25, 900, 600 feet OF hem.
lock lumber annually. TO day not more
than one-quarter of that amount is cut,
and, except in n few isolated cases,
where the timber has been left standing
for such an emergency, the product Of
to-day is of inferior quality. The lum'
bering and tanning business has gon,
to the western counties of Pennsylvania,
where the hemlock and pine still cover
vast areas. The sole-leather tanning
of the world is now almost entirely done
in Warren, Elk, Forest, and Potter
counties in this state, as il was few
years ago in Wayne, Pike, Susquehan.
ma, Luzerne, and Monroe in this state,
and Sullivan in New York.
Besides the pine and hemlooll forests :.
that once stood in the region there wera
hundreds of thousands of acres of hard
wood-maple, beech, oak, and chest
nut. OF these the oak and chestnut
have succumbed 10 the demand for rail-
road ties and telegraph poles, to say
nothing Of tho thousands of acres OF
the finest specimens OF their Kind thai
were sacrificed for cordwood before the
railroads and the people adopted coal
as the universal fuel. Until recently it
seemed that the splendid groves OF ma
pie and the other hard woods were
to be spared the systematic and I'M
sbarng onslaught that had swept the
hemock, pine, oak, and chestnut away,
but there is no longer hope of that. II
is true that every year more or less ma.
pie, birch, beech, and Eastwood were
cut and shipped to markets where there
was demand for various purposes,
but now the war against them has been
carried into into the forest,
In all parts of the region extensive
establishments for the manufac tire Of
umbrella-sticks, clothsepins, and SINH
lar articles for which the timber is es-
pccially adapted, have been erected Al
points most convenient to the woods de-
sired. There are now in operation iif-
" of these establishments all with inn
proved machinery for more rapidly re.
ducing the tint Der to the forms desired.
Ono of these factories where umbrella
sticks are the specially, but whore eve.
rything is made into which the mate.
rial not available for the speciality can
be turned, is a sample of the whole. II
is in Pike county. few miles from
this village. 1t requires the constant
work of twenty-five men and fourteen
teams to cut and haul maple logs to
keep it running. This is not the most
extensive factory in the region. either.
Only the best maple wood is used. One
lumber dealer has just closed con-
tract with factory to get out one mil.
lion feet of choice maple plank for use
as fast as he can furnish it.
This attack on the remaining forests
of the region will denudc its hills in
few years. The removal Of the pine
and hemlock has seriously affected the
water-courses of the counties named,
as the disappearance entirely Of
streams of considerable size. and the
extraordinary diminishing Of larger
ones amply testify. The Delaware
river was lower last fall than ever in
its history, while the sudden and dam.
aging floods that follow storms. which
in former years would scarcely make
a rafting freshet, indicate what the de-
struction of the forests has induced.
When the hardwood groves are gone,
the result to the water-supply, accord
ing to competent opinion, will be Sc.
rious problem that will confront the
inhabitants OF the region. -Ha'oles
(Pd) Cor. Nev York San.
Quite An Embarrassing Situation